


Happy Ending

by Anam



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-19 03:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8188165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anam/pseuds/Anam
Summary: "Of course she couldn't have all that she wished for; the happy and mundane life that she saw played out on television. Logically, she knew life wasn't like that. But somewhere within her she hoped some part of it could be real.That those hollow TV sets held some genuine experience that she could work towards."





	

She finished getting dressed and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her damp red hair was tucked between her ears and she searched her own blue eyes. She thought about what they'd done. She showered in hopes that she could wash away the decision; which was fruitless. This choice had been made a long time ago, choosing to act on it was the recent development. The steam from the shower half cleared and with it her mind, no longer clouded with passion, longing and loneliness.  
The realisation of all the possible consequences dawned on her. They had crossed the line that they had been slowly nudging to this point over the years. No matter what the future held, neither of them would be able to go back to the way things were before.  
__________________________

Scully refused to leave his side. 

It had been over six months since he disappeared and it was only three months ago that she buried his body. Now, watching him breathe in the hospital bed she tried to process all that had happened. 

Rollercoaster was one way to describe her emotions and that didn't take into account all the hormonal changes from her pregnancy. She had gone from the joy of learning she was with child, to the immediate devastation that she had lost the person she trusted implicitly. She tried to grieve little by little but it all seemed too unreal. It seemed to her like some cosmic joke, with her and Mulder as the playing pieces. 

Of course she couldn't have all that she wished for; the happy and mundane life that she saw played out on television. Logically, she knew life wasn't like that. But somewhere within her she hoped some part of it could be real. That those hollow TV sets held some genuine experience that she could work towards. Moments of happiness always seemed overshadowed by something dark. Even intimate moments with Mulder, times that 'normal' people might reflect on with a smile. She remembered with the smell of hospitals and an unseen enemy. There was always so much darkness, even in her brightest memories.

This made it even harder to believe that she was actually sitting next to Mulder. This couldn't be real, she must be living the dream she had been having almost every night since he disappeared. In her dreams she would hear a knock at her door and open it to find him standing there. He would hug her but could not explain where he had been or how he had returned. The dream always ended the same, with Scully trying to find answers. She would awake in tears, each time cursing her psyche and praying that she could see him, even for a moment.

Scully now had to deal with the anxiety that what was happening wasn't a dream. She rubbed her belly and held Mulder's warm hand. Taking slow breaths and wishing for all the things that she dared not hope for while he was gone. She imagined a life for the three of them, hoping that imagining that life could make it more of a reality. Since denying it seemed to make it all fall apart. She watched Mulder's chest rise and fall and prayed that this was not a dream. That she would not again wake to the nightmare she had been living.

Mulder stirred and looked at her.  
"Who are you?"  
Her bubble bursts and fear floods her thoughts.

He smiled and Scully knew that with that joke he would never fully comprehend what she had suffered during his absence. She also knew that she might never understand his journey either.

Maybe her fears were well founded. Maybe this real life would continue to break her heart again and again.  
__________________________

Time passed and the distance between them seemed like a chasm that could not be crossed. Neither knowing exactly how to be with the other or how to get back to the way things once were. Fear was what filled the space that knowing glances and sly smiles used to. They both were unsure of whether they can now speak of that night. A night that ended tangled in bed sheets. A one time occurrence they both agreed never to mention again.

Scully's due date drew closer and fears mounted. For so many years it had been her and Mulder. Day by day, case by case they would try to work through anything together. Now there were others involved in this journey. Her mother, Skinner, Doggett and Reyes all wanted answers. Answers that she felt she couldn't give, as they were answers to questions she was to afraid to even ask herself.  
To get her hopes up again seemed fruitless. The life she had once envisioned for Mulder, their child and her was quickly fading away. This baby was created to be a new pawn for this game. She called it her baby but wasn't even sure that was true. Maybe she was just an incubator. Maybe the night her and Mulder shared had nothing to do with what was happening, so it was best to forget about it.  
Of course she couldn't forget about it. She still dreamt and fantasized of what it had felt like to have him on top of her. She has never felt as safe as she did that night, she fears she'll never feel that safe again.  
__________________________

Her child was born and nothing seemed any clearer. Mulder had arrived just in time to make sure that both her and her baby could be brought into hospital. All those people waiting to take him away simply vanished. Mulder made sure she was safe then he allowed her space and told her he would visit when she returned home. But Scully was tired of the space between them, she craved closeness and intimacy. When she returned home Scully decided that she wasn't going to play this game anymore. She named their son William, after Mulder's father. 

"Maybe what we feared were the possibilities, the truth we both know."  
"Which is?"

They kissed tenderly and weight of his words washed over her.  
She had known and feared this truth for years. What it might mean to be more than partners on the X-files. After all that had been taken away and then returned she needed to believe that there was nothing more that could be done to them.

That night they slept side by side, while William lay in a bassinet at the end of the bed. Scully fell asleep listening to Mulder whisper about his love for her and the future he wants for their child. She awoke a few times throughout the night, making sure it was all real. That she had the man she loved next to her and a healthy baby.

She allowed the feeling of warmth and safety to wash over her, it was a balm for her soul. That night began to sew up wounds she thought would never heal. She allowed herself to believe in happiness, to believe in a future, to believe in them.

End.


End file.
